The Story of A Casual Tank in Azeroth

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LFG Tips

I got my pug last night, after a very good experience with the new LFG feature. I had 4 consecutive runs where the DPS was excellent and the only problem was that people kept pulling agro, but that is something I can deal with and great healers did not let anyone die. In less than an hour I got the rest of the “pug” numbers to get my Perky Pug.

The road there was not an easy one, but some things I did made it easier to stomach.

Say Hello
I find it fun to see where people are from sever wise. When you say hello most people will respond and if the group is waiting for a member take the time to just chit chat and make the wait less monotonous. I have not had people drop a group when there has been a greeting, if there is none and there is a wait and no interaction people will leave. Filling a group after it has been formed can be a pain specially if someone is just going to the first boss or just want to ninja something and leave. Making conversation will lower the probability of that happening. Also try to talk about loot rules, my encounter with ninjas (they need every time instead of greed or disenchant) has been about 25% of the time. It will not make them stop but make everyone aware of why you will also start needing instead of greeding.

Help Others
Less so now, but many people are not familiar with all the features of the LFG system. People get confused when they are not automatically ported and in some cases it is simply that too many instances are launched and you cannot enter yours, instruct people to keep on trying and announce that they can join when you do get in. Make sure that if someone is not showing up, let them know that they can click on the green eye by the mini map to be ported into the instance. Be the patient person in the group and it will help set the tone.

Be Prepared
Most groups will be ready to go as soon as they can port into place. I am lucky that I go with my tank most of the time, but going as a healer has made me see that some people don’t care that you don’t have full mana or buffs before you pull. Conversing helps this, because you can fit in a, lets buff first before you start. Also if you are going to use buff food or flasks, announce it and people will be more likely to wait. Also try to leave your toon sitting by a repair person, repair after every run specially if you died during the last one. It is very easy to forget and then get stuck being dragged through an instance while gear just further degrades.

Speak Up
Even in regular heroics there are fights that people used to skip and don’t know. I have had people in gear scores higher than mine wipe in Old Kingdom simply by not hitting the right mushroom in time or at all. Ask if people know the boss if he is not a tank and spank. Also call people out. If someone is DPSing without care to threat it will hurt not just the tank but the healer. Letting the drop works sometimes, but it might also leave you stuck in a place with a boss down and without a DPS. Also after a wipe, if you know what caused it say something without pointing fingers and the group will pick up and move on; it will make the walk back actually useful.

Answer Questions
Engaging the group will make it work better. If someone has a question about a boss or something you did or skip and you know the answer, don’t wait for someone else just answer the question. It will make what you say weight a lot more if you appear to know what you are talking about.

Know when to Hush
If you bring something up, but you can make up for it (low DPS for example), let it go and continue. Harping beyond the initial pointing out of the problem will not make it go away unless you decide to kick the bad player. Be aware that doing this is not a good idea, I’ve had little success with kicking someone out and filling the spot beyond the point one boss is already down. You will end up saved and with a broken group. Filling it up will waste your time.

Know when to quit
Even though a bad player can be dragged through and they might even be thankful, do know when to quit. I have experienced that one really bad player or three medial players will make a run double the time. Cut your losses and go somewhere else. Minimize the time you spend waiting and maximize the time you are getting stuff. The reason you use to tool is to get stuff done. The rules of when you run with your guild or friends do not apply here, so learn to fold.

Need before Greed
Try to be the last one to select your loot choice. I have been surprised by how many people pass, greeding should be the norm and don’t pass it is 1-3 gold every time something drops. Not only that, enchanting mats are going for good gold in the AH or will help your GB be full. Do not believe ninjas, if you have someone need before greed, they will continue to do so. Announce to the group that you are going to need the rest of the run unless it is something that you truly don’t need and can do without. Hopefully people roll before you and you don’t run into this problem but this has been the biggest annoyance for me.

Be polite and have fun! catch some of the gear that currently is running.